Guide to the Fones Record | State Archives Catalog

The Fones Record consists of deeds and other land records, dating from 1651? to 1703, pertaining to a portion of the Colony of Rhode Island that was known as Narragansett country. The records document the transfer of lands from the Narragansett Indians to the colonists and transfers of land between colonists. Freemen whose names appear frequently in the transactions include Humphrey Atherton, John Winthrop, Edward Hutchinson, Richard Smith, John Saffin, and Richard Wharton. John Fones was the recorder for deeds dating from approximately 1686 to 1703. Some of the records entered by Fones refer to land transactions which occurred at an earlier date and were then entered on record by Fones at a later date.